I'm not sure on the mats with locators but Ebay might be a place to try.

You could try Eurocarparts or GSF for wheel the bearing. I will warn you, I had an independant mechanic change mine just before Christmas. He called me while he was purchasing it to see if I actually wanted to proceed, as the part was £90+VAT.
Now this mechanic came recommended by a friend so hopefully he didn'y sting me on this.

Piece of cake to do. I could have done it myself If I'd know how simple it was. 20 minutes and it was done.

Mine left rear wheel bearing started by sounding like I had a flat spotted tyre when I went round right hand bends or islands.

Slowly it got to the point that you could hear a continous drone through the car starting at about 35-40 mph. The faster you went the louder the sound became.

Mine cost me a £140 all-in to replace, but I had a independant mechanic do mine.
The mechanic who did mine said the wheel bearing design on the back of the A3 is poor. There is no seal or sealant on the cap over the hub bolt, and the bolt sticks out over 1/4 of inch out of the back of the hub.

He showed me the rust in side the bearing on mine which shows that water has ingressed into the bearing either through the front hub cap, or backwards up the exposed bolt into the bearing. The mechanic has put some silicone sealer on both the new cap and bolt, which he said will probably not stop it, but should slow this process down this time.

i had a very similar issue as Chill14.. i could hear a constant drone starting around 40mph and got louder the faster i went, my mechanic also mentioned it failed due to poor design so im assuming its a regular problem

i getting a sound from what i think is the rear wheels, it sounds like when a stone or something gets stuck inbetween the tyre treads, i had it for around 5 months now, an ideas what it can be?? oh and dont say check the tyre treads for something stuck inbetween because i done that many many times lol and there is noting stuck, oh and the sound only comes when i am a straight smooth road surface

Ok normally a bearing noise will sound worse at speed or under load. This is why mine started when I went round right hand bends, because the load was on the left side of the car.

Now what may sound like a stone in a tyre to you, may sound like a flat spotted tyre to me, so I would recommend doing the following. This will give you a little more indication if it is going.

Jack your car up at the rear on the side you suspect is making the noise. Make sure that you have your car engaged in 1st gear and the handbrake off. Leaving the wheel in place, make sure your brake pads are free off the brake disc as possible, and then spin the wheel by hand.

If your wheel bearing is going then apart from a metallic noise which will probably be the brake pads catching the disc now and then (which they most likely will), you will hear a dull rumble noise.

If you are not sure, check the opposite rear wheel and listen for the same noise. If the rumble noise is not on that wheel, that suggests the side with the rumble has the bearing going.

If you are still not sure, get it checked by someone who has had a bearing go and 'knows the noise' or get a mechanic/garage to look at. If only for peace of mind.

Ok normally a bearing noise will sound worse at speed or under load. This is why mine started when I went round right hand bends, because the load was on the left side of the car.

Now what may sound like a stone in a tyre to you, may sound like a flat spotted tyre to me, so I would recommend doing the following. This will give you a little more indication if it is going.

Jack your car up at the rear on the side you suspect is making the noise. Make sure that you have your car engaged in 1st gear and the handbrake off. Leaving the wheel in place, make sure your brake pads are free off the brake disc as possible, and then spin the wheel by hand.

If your wheel bearing is going then apart from a metallic noise which will probably be the brake pads catching the disc now and then (which they most likely will), you will hear a dull rumble noise.

If you are not sure, check the opposite rear wheel and listen for the same noise. If the rumble noise is not on that wheel, that suggests the side with the rumble has the bearing going.

If you are still not sure, get it checked by someone who has had a bearing go and 'knows the noise' or get a mechanic/garage to look at. If only for peace of mind.

Click to expand...

what is a "flat spotted tyre"? i had a MOT just few weeks ago and they did all the various checks so i dont think it is the bearings or is it?

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